PASADENA, Calif.- For more than a year, television cameras followed researchers at the California Institute of Technology as they conducted experiments, discussed their work, and in one case, watched as the first human subject received a cancer drug one of them created.
The groundbreaking work that goes on at Caltech came to the attention of documentary makers at Thirteen/WNET New York, who decided to train their lenses on the stories they thought public television viewers would be fascinated by.
The result is "CURIOUS," a two-hour documentary about this work and the people who do it which will air on public television stations around the country beginning this fall.
Interviewees include Mark Davis, who is involved in clinical trials on a low-side-effect alternative to chemotherapy; Lynn Paul, who studies how learning and personality are affected in the rare situations when the two hemispheres of the brain aren't connected; Nate Lewis and Sossina Haile, who are trying to find a practical way to harness the energy of the sun and reduce our reliance on oil; Michael Dickinson, who studies how flies fly, which might one day lead to the creation of safer airplanes; Steve Quartz and Colin Camerer, who use fMRI to study how emotion and reason do battle in the brain during moral and economic decision making; Richard Murray, who is creating a car that can drive itself; and JPL researchers who create robots to explore other planets and discuss how robots might one day surpass humans in intelligence.
Produced by Thirteen/WNET New York, distributed by American Public Television, and funded by TIAA-CREF, Peter and Merle Mullin, and Stan and Barbara Rawn, "CURIOUS" immerses viewers in a world where smart, dedicated researchers are devising unusual, even radical, solutions to the problems that plague the human race. It is their mission to discover applications for scientific breakthroughs that could dramatically improve how we live.
"'CURIOUS' gives viewers a rare opportunity to see how real scientific research gets done at a cutting-edge institution," said Jared Lipworth, the series' executive producer. "We wanted to explore the cross-pollination that goes on when brilliant minds come in contact with and challenge one another, and along the way, we've discovered some incredible stories. This isn't just research for research's sake; these are some big innovations that may actually change the world as we know it."
Mark Mannucci, the series' director, writer, and producer, wanted to make a science show that would be appealing to people who might not generally choose to watch one. "I'd never tackled a science show before 'CURIOUS,' so I had no preconceptions about what science on television should be," he said. "We played with a lot of different ways to explain science concepts, and we had fun doing it,"
The researchers, who had to get used to being the observed rather than the observers, hope the program will serve an educational purpose. Lynn Paul, a senior research fellow in psychology who studies people with agenesis of the corpus callosum (AgCC), said, "As a scientist, it's easy to get focused on conversations within the scientific community, but more challenging to find opportunities to tell the public about our work. It was a treat to have the film crew show such interest in AgCC and in our work. My hope is that the audience will also find it fascinating and see how Caltech is making a difference in the lives of real people."
Sossina Haile, professor of materials science and chemical engineering, agreed. Haile is looking for a solution to the energy problem via fuel cells. "I believe it is important to explain to the American public what it is we do and why. The most challenging part of all of this is not so much having the cameras follow us around, but rather describing our work in a way that captures the complexity of what we do without overwhelming the listener with details. The good news from my perspective is that more and more people are educated on energy technologies, such as the fuel cells that my group develops. Therefore, I can move beyond the general statements of how a fuel cell works to describing the revolutionary new materials we use to make them work so much better."
One interesting aspect of the program is that it delves into the stories behind the science at Caltech and JPL. For example, Mark Davis was enjoying a successful career as a chemical engineer--until his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. After chemotherapy treatments made her gravely ill, she said to Davis, "There's got to be a better way--you can fix this." He didn't think he could; cancer was "way out of [his] comfort zone from a scientific point of view." Ultimately, he rose to that very personal challenge, and 10 years later the drug he invented, IT-101, was injected into Ray Natha of Long Beach, California, the first human to participate in the clinical trial.
"Having the 'CURIOUS' film crew probing every aspect of my life for approximately a year could have been an intimidating experience," said Davis. "However, everyone involved with the production of 'CURIOUS' did their best to make me feel comfortable throughout the entire process."
"CURIOUS" is a co-production of Thirteen/WNET New York and Caltech and will air at various times on public television stations; check local listings. The following dates are scheduled: 1. WGBH, Boston: Thursday, October 4, 8 to 10 p.m. 2. WNET, New York: Thursdays, October 11 and 18, 8 to 9 p.m. 3. KERA, Dallas: Tuesdays, October 16 and 23, 8 to 9 p.m. 4. WTVS, Detroit: Tuesdays, October 16 and 23, 9 to 10 p.m. 5. KCET, Los Angeles: Thursday, November 15, 9 to 11 p.m.
